Poster number 4 presents an interesting viewpoint, but I feel she falls short with the parallels between the rumble and the American Revolution. The colonists had a clear goal and vision in the revolution; it wasn't just to beat up the British, as was the goal of the Greasers in the rumble. The colonists looked beyond the fighting, when they sat down and established the Declaration of Indedpendence. They said by winning this fight, we will bring about our own society with laws we want to live by. Therefore, it was worthwhile. The Greasers won their rumble, but then returned back to their same substandard ways of life. It would have been like if General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington, and then Washington in turn paid him a hefty tax for some of his tea.

I think that the fight was as much to let offsteam and to vent their frustrations as to establish any sort of position between the two gangs. We find that there are clear 'rules' to the rumble - no weapons on this occasion - which suggests the boys see this as much as a workout as a battle. They would be playing baseball in a different neighbourhood.

The rumble was not worth it. Once again, the boys gave in to the stereotype of what was expected of them. Could they have chose differently and had more pride and self respect? Eventually, but every time they give in to the "gang" mentality, they sink a little lower.

This is a good discussion board question. The Socs and the Greasers, unfortunately, disliked each other without knowing much about each other. They were "born" into their social classes. They did not normally associate with one another since they were in these different social classes. They were told not to associate with each other, at times, and it was just a "given" that they did not mingle with each other. In rare cases, such as with Pony Boy, did they speak at length with one another. Each group did not really view each other as individuals.

In my opinion, physical fights do not solve problems. The "rumble" between the two groups did not really serve a purpose except to release aggression and tension between the two groups and people got hurt, which is not a positive outcome. The two groups seem destined to treat each other in the same fashion:

In sum, the portrayal of class that Hinton makes simply outlines the facts. There is no attempt to suggest a way of bringing the classes together. Nor is there a criticism of either side, because both sides are at fault. The only optimism this novel offers is that members of the two sides can learn to understand one another, even if they still fight. In the end, greasers will be greasers and Socs will be Socs. (eNotes)

I disagree with what you said about how you said "physical fights don't solve problems."

I think in this, the rumble, that they wern't trying to fix any problems. It's in they're nature to fight with each other, its what they do. And before, in the movie, when Dallas is in the hospital he said "We have to win that fight tonight, man. We'll do it for Johnny." Theres another reason why they thought they had to win. Because they blame the Soc for everything.